REVIEWS 279

REVIEWS.

The Principles of Bacteriology and Immunity. By W. W. C. Topley, M.A.,

D.SC., F.R.C.P., and G. S. Wilson, M.D., M.R.C.P., D.P.H. London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1929. Price 50s. net.

In the preface to this work the authors explain that in producing it they have had in mind the requirements not of the ordinary student, or even of the ordinary post-graduate student, but of those students of medicine and biology who wish to make a serious study of bacteriology and its application to the problems of infection and resistance, and it is submitted that the matter con­tained in the two volumes is of a kind with which any bacteriologist should be familiar. The inference from these and other statements in the work is that it is designed for those who aspire to have the right, from knowledge of the subject, to describe themselves as bacteriologists. It is admitted that it has a frank bias in the direction of the application of bacteriological principles to the study and control of infective disease, and for that reason numerous instances of natural disease in live-stock have been included in it.

In point of size no previous English text-book on bacteriology can compare with it. It extends to over 1,300 pages, and the greater space has allowed the authors to deal much more fully than is usual with some branches of the subject. About half of Vol. I is devoted to what is termed General Bacterio­logy, which deals in a general way with the biological characters of bacteria, while the remainder deals with Systematic Bacteriology and includes an account of the different species of bacteria in respect of their morphological, cultural, and staining characters, and their pathogenicity. In Vol. II the subjects are arranged under two main heads, viz.: (1) infection and resistance, and (2) the application of bacteriology to medicine and hygiene. An unusual feature of the work, and one that certainly has some disadvantages, is that the description of the organism and of the account of the disease for which it is responsible are not consecutive, but actually in different volumes.

In a work in which, under the authors' scheme, every aspect of the subject had to receive consideration, it is difficult to draw comparisons between different parts, but the opinion may be expressed that the last section is the one deserving most praise. It presents the reader with a well-balanced account of the infective diseases of the human species, and omits nothing that ought to be known to those whose work lies in connection with the prevention of these diseases in man. It must be admitted, however, that the same cannot be said with regard to the like diseases in the domesticated animals, the con­densed references to those being inadequate for the purpose of a veterinary bacteriologist, and occasionally inaccurate.

The work includes 241 text figures, which are generally good, but an exception must be made of the two depicting the Bacillus anthracis, which, apparently owing to the method of staining, are misleading rather than helpful for diagnosis.

The publisher's share of the work deserves commendation.

Insects, Ticks, Mites, and Venomous Animals of Medical and Veterinary Importance. By Walter Scott Patton, M.B., CH.B. (EDIN), F.R.S., and Alwen M. Evans, D.SC. Illustrated by Edith Mary Patton, Alwen M. Evans, and A. J. Engel Terzi.

This work belongs to the class of books that are most welcome to a reviewer, because he finds nothing in them that is not deserving of commendation. It has been written primarily for medical officers and others taking post-graduate courses in Tropical Medicine, and takes the place of Patton and Cragg's

280 RE'\lIEWS.

Textbook of Medical Entomology, which was published sixteen years ago, and is now out of date and out of print. Its bulk (785 crown 4to pages) is apt to suggest that it must contain matter that is superfluous for the require­ments of those for whom it is designed, but the authors have had in mind not only the medical graduate who is studying the subjects with a view to obtaining a diploma in Tropical Medicine, but also the medical officer stationed in the tropics, who i~ often cut off from access to a library in which he might find the information necessary for original research when insects or acari appear to be a factor in the dissemination of disease in man or animal. A striking feature of the work is the number (374) and excellence of the illustra­tions.

The volume has been published privately, and is only ohtainable on application to the Department of Entomology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool. Price 20s.

The Essentials of General Physiology. By Eric Ponder, M.D., D.se., Professor of General Physiology, New York University. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1929. Price 15s. net.

What exactly should be included in a textbook on General Physiology is a matter about which the opinions of authors are not unanimous, and the scope of this book is not fully disclosed by its title. Its object is not to describe the functions of the different organs of the body, but to explain the phenomena underlying tile vital processes in terms of known physical and chemical principles. The first four chapters deal exclusively with physical processes, viz.: surface action, the colloidal state, diffusion and permeability, and the dissociation of electrolytes. The consideration of these subjects occupies about a third of the book, and in the remaining chapters the principles thus laid down are are employed to explain as far as possible the different vital phenomena-muscular action, digestion, respiration, secretion, etc. There are special chapters on enzymes, hormones, and fertilisation.

There can be no doubt that the work will form a valuable supplement to the textbooks on physiology that are in general use, and it can truly be said that practitioners as well as students will find it interesting reading.

The Essentials of Histology. By Edward Sharpey Schafer, F.R.S., Professor of Physiology in the University of Edinburgh. Twelfth Edition. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1929. Price 15s. net.

Since its first appearance in 1885, Professor Schafer's textbook has been in the front rank of English works on Histology. In preparing the new Edition the text has been carefully revised by the author, with the assistance of Dr. H. M. Carleton, Lecturer on Histology in the University of Oxford, and numerous new illustrations have been introduced. It presents the essential facts in adequate detail for the medical student, and in language that is clear and concise. Its authority on histology can scarcely be challenged, but it is surely a slip to say (p. 44) that the large uninuclear leucocyte" is the most phagocytic of white cells, especially towards foreign bodies and parasite organisms."

Bainbridge and Menzies' Essentials of Physiology. Sixth Edition. Edited and revised by H . Hartridge, M .A., M.D., se.D., F.R.S. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1929. Price 14s. net.

The fact that the present is the sixth edition since 1914 proves that this textbook is well adapted to the needs of students of physiology. The revision and addition of a number of new chapters, including one on basic principles, have brought the work completely up to date.